Money blog: 'I can't stand it': Top chef reveals pet hate in restaurants (2025)

Every Thursday we interview chefs from around the UK, hearing about their cheap food hacks and more. Today we chat to Anthony "Murf" Murphy, co-founder of The Beefy Boys, which has branches in Hereford, Shrewsbury, Cheltenham and Bath.

My pet hate in restaurants isQR code ordering... I can't stand it. When you go out for a meal, you want an experience; you want hospitality and to talk to a human being. That's part and parcel of going out, not scanning something with your phone. It's awful.

The biggest mistake I see in kitchens is… not tasting the food you make. You can follow a recipe and make something 100 times, but you have to taste what you make. A chef's greatest tool isn't a knife; it's their tastebuds.

The legendary George Motz is my chef hero... for burgers. The guy knows more about burgers than anyone on the planet. For BBQ, it's Aaron Franklin; his commitment to authenticity and attention to detail is awe-inspiring. And for day-to-day food, I love Nigel Slater. He has an amazing knack for making food you want to eat - comforting and delicious.

This isn't a pretty career... If you love cooking for fun and it's a hobby, really think about whether you want to make the jump from passionate home cook to professional chef. It's a huge change of pace, and you have to be prepared for the thing you love also becoming the thing you hate (not all the time, but you can't really call yourself a chef until you've screamed/cried in a walk-in fridge).

Give things time... Sweat your onions, caramelise your meat. The devil is in the details when it comes to cooking.

A cheap place I love to eat near me is...Meavia. It's a fantastic, authentic Italian stall/pop-up in Hereford. The guys that run it make their own pasta from scratch, and it's insane. You can pick up a little tub of the best pasta you've ever had for lunch for under £10.

My go-to cheap eat at home is... chilli garlic noodles. It's my go-to when I want something quick after work.

• You need four cloves of garlic, minced, and one red chilli, diced (or half a teaspoon of crispy chilli in oil).
• Fry them together in a wok, toss through some noodles and a tablespoon of soy sauce, a tablespoon of oyster sauce, a teaspoon of maple syrup, and a splash of sesame oil.
• Throw in a couple of chopped spring onions.
• That's your base recipe, and you can add whatever protein (eggs, chicken, beef) and whatever veg (broccoli, mushrooms, courgette) you like.

Get yourself a plane ticket and go to... St Elmo's in Indianapolis. The only starter on the menu is their shrimp cocktail - jumbo, juicy shrimp with Thousand Island dressing and a lethal dose of fresh horseradish. It's genuinely painful and simultaneously exhilarating to eat. Also, their steaks are incredible, and the wine list is like a copy of the Yellow Pages.

My favourite cheap substitute is topside... It's a really underrated cut of beef. If you cook it right, it's as much of a showstopper as a rib of beef. Searthe outside and cook it as gently and slowly as possible until it reaches your desired doneness.

Make a stock pot to prevent waste... Get your leftover roast chicken into a pot with a carrot, an onion, celery, and garlic. Making stock is a great way to get an extra meal out of a roast dinner, and there's nothing more comforting than the smell of a slowly bubbling pot of stock on the hob.

The UK's biggest broadband providers have been outperformed by smaller rivals in Which?'s annual survey after more than 4,000 customers were quizzed about their experiences.

The lowest-scoring major provider was Virgin Media, which finished joint bottom with Now Broadband with a customer score of 60%.

It was rated poorly on ease of contact, customer service, communication, technical support and value for money.

But Virgin Media is also charging the highest annual price rise for standalone broadband, with customers facing a £3.50 increase a month - adding £42 a year to their bill.

At the other end of the scale, Zen Internet, Plusnet and Utility Warehouse were named as recommended providers by Which?

The highest rating of the three went to Zen Internet, which secured a customer score of 77% - its contract price promise also means customers' deals will not be hiked mid-contract.

See the full table of results below...

The cost of passport applications will increase - again - next month.

The 7% hike was announced on the government website this afternoon,

Simon Calder, the well-known travel journalist and broadcaster, says ittakes the cumulative rise in fees since February 2023 to 25%.

Here's a breakdown in how prices will change:

• The fee for a standard online application made from within the UK will rise from £88.50 to £94.50 for adults and £57.50 to £61.50 for children;
• Postal applications will increase from £100 to £107 for adults and £69 to £74 for children;
• The fee for a premium service (one day) application made from within in the UK will rise from £207.50 to £222 for adults and £176.50 to £189 for children;
• The fee for a standard online application when applying from overseas for a UK passport will rise from £101 to £108 for adults and £65.50 to £70 for children;
• Overseas standard paper applications will increase from £112.50 to £120.50 for adults and £77 to £82.50 for children.

The Home Office said the government does not make any profit from the fees for passport applications.

The fees are spent contributing to the cost of processing passport applications, consular support overseas, including for lost or stolen passports, and the cost of processing British citizens at UK borders.

Lidl is returning to the TikTok shop after the success of its first product launch on the platform last month.

The discount supermarket will be selling 6,000 pistachio-filled chocolate bars priced at £3.99 plus a £1 postage fee from 9am tomorrow.

The Dubai-style chocolates have become a viral hit on social media, with Lidl's own version only available on TikTok and not in stores.

Lidl said it was the "first supermarket meeting our customers directly on the platform" after it first began selling through TikTok shop.

It sold 3,000 high-protein product bundles at £5 each, with the range selling out in just 18 minutes.

Consumer expert Kate Hardcastle told the Grocery Gazette there is "no question" that TikTok should be a marketing focus for supermarkets.

"The platform has an undeniable influence, especially when it comes to shaping food culture and trends," she said.

Kevin Sims, director of SO Resi, a not-for-profit housing association, runs through the options out there to help renters get on the property ladder this year.

How to turn a free £1,000 into £2,000

Opening a Lifetime ISA (LISA) could give you a £2,000 savings boost, tax-free.

"This account allows you to save up to £4,000 each tax year, with the government providing a 25% boost of up to £1,000 each year," Kevin says.

"Smart savers can gain extra savings by opening the account before the end of the current tax year (5 April 2025) and depositing up to £4,000 to gain the benefit. The clock will then reset on the 6 April, meaning that buyers can input another £4,000 to receive their second annual bonus in the new tax year."

There are eligibility criteria to be aware of, so it's important to read the fine print.

Money in a LISA has to be used either for a first home or retirement. Withdrawing it for reasons other than this results in penalties, meaning you could end up with less than you started with.

Rent to buy

"The increased cost of living has made it difficult for tenants to set aside savings for a house deposit," says Kevin.

"Rent to buy allows tenants to sign a fixed-term contract on a new home, which will see them pay rent at a subsidised rate. This lower rent provides tenants with the flexibility to save for a deposit if they choose to do so, and at the end of the tenancy will be able to purchase the home they are living in using shared ownership."

This scheme is also available in London as "London living rent" - though again, there are eligibility criteria.

Shared ownership

"For some aspiring homebuyers, a serious challenge is that they simply just aren't eligible to take out a big enough mortgage to buy a home," says Kevin.

One option could be shared ownership.

Kevin explains: "With shared ownership, buyers can typically purchase between 25%-75% of the property, paying a mortgage on the share that they have bought and a below market value rent on the remainder.

"Shared ownership makes getting onto the property ladder much more accessible, especially for those on a low wage. As your financial position improves, it's possible to increase ownership in your home, and achieve 100% ownership over time through a process called 'staircasing'."

By James Sillars, business and economics reporter

Last month's interest rate cut was a nailed-on certainty.

But I'm afraid to say that I can be just as sure there will be no further relief from the Bank of England at midday tomorrow.

It could be argued that this week's rate decision was actually made, in all but name, at the last meeting.

A big majority on the rate-setting committee are concerned about inflation, which is only expected to tick further upwards in the coming months.

Annual wage growth around 6% is also too high for the Bank's liking.

That said, there does not seem to be too much concern, in advance of the rate decision meeting anyway, about high wage growth stoking the pace of price rises further given that consumer confidence remains in the doldrums.

The tide of bill hikes coming - from the likes of council tax, water and energy - on 1 April are likely to further depress household spending power. (The Money blog's long read on Saturday will take you through all the bills that are going up - and how you can avoid the worst of it.)

For businesses, confidence is shaky on many fronts too.

The economy is coming under further pressure from the effects of Donald Trump's trade war, which is being felt globally.

Also at play are rising costs associated with the Labour government's first budget.

The most pressing issue is the additional bill from employers' national insurance contributions - also coming into effect next month.

The risk for the Bank is that firms choose to pass that extra cost on, raising inflationary pressures further.

All told, financial markets expect to see two further interest rate cuts this year.

It partly assumes a slowing pace for wage growth, on the back of that budget tax measure, helping to offset some of the predicted stickiness in other elements of inflation.

The Bank will also be mindful to avoid being blamed for any unnecessary slowdown in the economy by keeping its foot on the brake too long.

In the UK's flat economy, higher borrowing costs are keeping a lid on spending by consumers and businesses alike, meaning that things like mortgage rates are not coming down at the pace expected just late last year.

Bank rate is expected to remain at 4.5% until May at least on the back of February's guidance on rates. The key words surrounding the prospects for rate cuts were "gradual" and "cautious".

Given the domestic and international challenges facing the economy, it's safe to assume that the tone of the guidance will not change either.

Aldi has introduced free period products in customer and colleague toilets as part of a charity campaign in a UK supermarket first.

All in-store toilets will be fitted with fixtures providing free period products by the end of May.

Aldi released research showing 41% say they are unable to afford period products, with 30% forced to decide between them or other essential items like food or clothing.

Aldi has also partnered with leading menstrual equity charity Bloody Good Period to donate more than one million products to support the charity's fight against period poverty.

"We never want our customers to have to choose between buying the period products they need and feeding themselves or their families," Julie Ashfield, chief commercial officer at Aldi UK, said.

"For millions of people across the country, having access to period products is a basic and essential need, and we believe the provision of these in public toilets is as vital as toilet paper and soap."

Has Topshop given the biggest hint yet that it could be returning to the high street after five years?

Speculation has been growing after its owner ASOS said in November that Topshop.com would be relaunched in the next six months, "giving the brand an opportunity to further expand its customer base".

But Jose Antonio Ramos Calamonte, head of ASOS, also said the option to grow the "physical presence" of Topshop would not be ignored.

Now, a video posted on the Topshop and Topman Instagram accounts contains the message "we missed you too", with captions spaced out across three posts adding "we've been listening".

Take a look at the video below...

Its parent company Arcadia Group went into administration in 2020, largely due to the COVID pandemic's impact on sales.

The brand's clothing is sold exclusively through ASOS after it acquired Topshop in February 2021.

There were more than 500 Topshop and Topman stores around the world at its peak, while 300 of them were located in the UK.

A Gordon Ramsay Michelin-starred restaurant in London has launched a new four-course weekday set menu for lunch at £45 per person.

The set menu at Petrus in Belgravia is available between 12pm and 2.15pm from Tuesday to Friday and has been crafted by executive head chef Orson Vergnaud.

It adds Petrus to this list we compiled last month of every Michelin-starred restaurant offering lunchtime or early evening deals...

Guests can expect to find cured salmon on the menu - served with nori, horseradish and tapioca - as well as chicken breast with cabbage, miso and jus gras.

For those after something a little different, there's also a truffle linguine served with parmesan foam.

Diners can choose between two dessert courses to make up the four courses - sorbet with rhubarb and champagne, or black forest with white chocolate and clementine.

Co-op has extended its partnership with Uber Eats for three years, meaning customers can continue to shop online and have their items delivered to their door.

The number of stores where delivery is available courtesy of Uber Eats has increased to more than 1,300 under the partnership, which began in 2022.

Co-op will extend its work with Uber Direct as part of the deal on deliveries via its Peckish app, which is dedicated to supporting independent local grocery retailers across the UK.

Uber Eats users will also continue to be offered member price deals from Co-op, with savings on almost 200 products through the delivery app.

"Innovation is fundamental to our approach, whether extending reach and choice, creating value through member price savings, or, delivering the Peckish app to give independent grocery retailers a voice online," Co-op quick commerce director Chris Conway said.

"We see consumer appetite for quick, easy and convenient grocery delivery continue to grow and the agreement with Uber Eats marks the start of a new chapter where we will work together to meet the evolving needs of shoppers and, to grow Co-op’s leading q-comm channel."